The chef’s new book, Sweet, joins the backlash against faddy diets and the myth that they are the key to a long life

Oliver Thring

September 17 2017, 12:01am, The Sunday Times

Yotam Ottolenghi at his shop and restaurant in Islington, north LondonCLARA MOLDEN

Yotam Ottolenghi is in Nopi, his restaurant at the smarter end of Soho. It all looks beautiful but earlier this month, in a random inspection, the venue received just two out of five stars for hygiene.

“Oh, you saw that,” says the chef and author when I bring it up. (In ­conversation he is as smooth as an olive.) “Well, we’ve fixed everything — the kitchen wasn’t dirty, we just didn’t have the right vacuum-packing equipment. A sink was blocked, the ice machine wasn’t up to scratch. The council are happy now.”

A cynic would argue it was because you’ve overstretched yourself, I say. “That’s what has been insinuated,” he replies. “Absolutely not. We’ve been ­running this business for 15 years and only have a…